The Friendly Beast
by aceofsteel
Summary: Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny are trying to find the horcruxes to stop Voldemort. What will happen to their group when a strange boy with connections to the Dark Lord shows up? H/G here and there. Set in a mid-DH/alternate storyline. My first HP fanfic!
1. Chapter 1

**This is a story I started a long time ago, and just got around to publishing. With school picking up, I'm not sure how much more I'll be able to add anytime soon.**

**1111111111 Will be used for transitions in time, place, or focus.**

Harry trooped back to the tent, carrying some wild strawberries and mushrooms, edible both, he hoped, longing for the feel of a warm dry blanket and a mug of strong tea once he was back inside. Nudging the tent flap open with his foot, he looked around the cozy interior of the tent, if it could be called that, after being magically expanded and furnished.

Hermione was sitting in her plush backed chair, wrapped up in both a book and a blanket. Ron was sitting in the kitchen, attempting to scratch enough food together for a meal. Listening, Harry could hear Ginny upstairs, humming a tune while she worked. He couldn't tell what she was doing, exactly, but she only ever hummed if she was lost in thought and busy making something. Lastly, Leah, a blonde American that had hooked up with the group a few weeks before on the streets, was using her wand to form dust clouds into various, amusing shapes.

"What'd you find?" Ron called to him. "Any better than before?"

"Not really," Harry answered back, "about the same. I wish we would settle next to a farm or stream, just so we could actually know what's food and what's not."

"Well, don't worry, things could get worse," Leah called to them over a swirling imitation of a full turkey. "At least we haven't had to eat Hermione yet."

"I heard that," Hermione called over the top of the book, _Advanced Transformations for Advanced Spellcasters_. "Honestly, I don't know what it is with your sense of humor, but I wish you wouldn't find so much amusement in our troubles."

"It's not amusement, exactly," she happily retorted, "it's just that I'm a chronic optimist."

Ignoring the small talk, Harry walked over to Ron and deposited his meager findings on a counter. Speaking in an undertone, he told him, "Honestly, if we don't find more things soon, we'll be in a worse situation than before." Harry was referring to the moment of depression when the first four had sat on the streets, almost uncaring about going on. If not for the arrival of a lost but street-tough Leah, they probably would still be sitting at the curb of a street somewhere.

"True, but we can't let the others know about it, we'll just have to start searching farther away," Ron whispered back just as seriously. "I guess, for now, we'll just take less and lead the girls on as if nothing was different."

"Would you two stop whispering so suspicious like over there?" Leah called at them. "Cheer up. Play a game of poker or something."

Poker had been introduced to them by her while they were still on the streets. At first, they didn't understand how she won so much against the older people she played, but it made sense once they discovered that she transfigured her hand every turn while they weren't watching.

"I think I'll just go for a walk outside," Harry said. "Ron, you coming?"

"No, I want to beat her fair and square for once," came Ron's reply.

"I'll go," came a voice from the stairs. Ginny was standing there, and probably had been for some time. "You need at least one person to watch your back, the way you attract trouble. Besides," she added in undertone, "we haven't had a chance to be alone for almost a week."

Feeling his stomach do a flop, Harry let himself be led by the hand back to the door. "Don't stay out there too long, you two," Leah called at them. "Dinner will be ready shortly."

"Never fret, we'll be back," Harry replied with half of a comical bow in her direction, then ducked out of the tent with Ginny, both girls laughing.

"It's different now, isn't it?" Ginny asked him after they had walked a short distance from the tent. "From when we first met, I mean."

"I would say so," Harry replied, putting his arm around her waist and holding her closer to him. She was shivering. He hoped it was just because it was a cool evening "At least we can actually talk face to face."

They walked on, going a bit deeper into the woods than they should have, never knowing that they were being watched from two sets of very different eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

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"Hey, where are we?" Ginny asked him suddenly. "I don't recognize anything around here."

Harry looked up, snapping out of his reverie, and saw that the woods had gotten darker, spookier, and more dangerous somehow. "Maybe we should start heading back," he replied, slowly pulling his wand out and holding it lightly in his palm.

"That may be a good idea," she replied, repeating the motion. "The only question is, which way is back?"

Her statement struck Harry home; they were lost. "Well, let's just turn around and hope," he told her. "Come on, grab my hand."

Felling more and more creeped out by the minute, Ginny took Harry's hand, needing no second telling. Together, they began to walk back towards what they fervently hoped was home. Neither saw the shadows following along the ground behind them, just as the shadows completely missed a lone figure in the trees.

"Well," the shadow said under its breath, "if you want to get lost more, by all means, keep going that way. Ah, crap, I wish I didn't have to bail out anyone tonight." The specter bounded through the trees, more silent than a shadow and defter than the breeze.

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Slowing down, Harry panted, looking over his shoulder. The piercing howl of whatever was following them seemed closer, but from everywhere at the same time. He wiped a trickle of sweat off his forehead. Why hadn't he listened to Leah and the others before? Now he was stuck, God knew where, with unseen shapes surrounding him and Ginny. She was handling it as well as could be expected, but he could still see the fear in her eyes.

"Don't worry," he whispered into her ear, "I'm here with you, no matter what happens."

She looked at him, and brushed the quickest of kisses across his cheek. "I'm not afraid," she replied, "not as long as you're around."

"That's all very sweet," called a voice from above, "but if either of you has an interest in making it out of here alive, I suggest you follow my lead."

To their utmost astonishment, a tall blonde boy roughly their age, dressed in chaps and a light cloak that blended into its surroundings, dropped down next to them, completing a three-person triangle facing every direction. "Don't move or do anything," he told them calmly but deliberately. "And when I say so, both of you start running over towards that gnarled old oak. You hear?"

Harry nodded, dumbfounded, with Ginny repeating the gesture next to him. He saw the oak, not 50 yards away. It had a curved trunk like a U, which would allow them protection from all sides but one.

A lone shadow moved into the light from their wands, taking the form of a jet-black wolf. Harry sent a quick stunning spell at it, but the jet seemed to pass through it into the night.

"Idiot!" the stranger hissed. "I told you not to do anything! There isn't a curse or spell that will help you against dark wolves. They can only be taken down by physical forces; making them a prime weapon against fools caught alone like you two."

"Then what are we going to do?" Ginny angrily asked, seeing more of the wolves come out from behind the trees. "What chance do we have then?"

"You forget, you have me," the stranger replied with a small chuckle. Harry didn't know how he could laugh in the middle of such a dire situation. "I, lucky for you, have some experience at holding them off. Now wait on my word."

Harry's senses telling to run at every moment, he stood still, waiting for the word. The wolves, which he could clearly see now, had a dark black fur, and glaring, yellow eyes that had no pupils. He thought he could feel his bones turn to ice, just as he looked at them. Then they started to howl in earnest, and he lost all control.

The howl was pain, agony, and despair formed into sound. He fell to his knees as every bad memory, the deaths of so many, and the grief he had borne all rushed into him like a flood. It was like the feeling a dementor made him feel, but turned to physical pain, not mental. He was screaming, that much he was aware of, and could hear Ginny responding the same way next to him, but it was as though a wall had been built between him and her, so muffled was her cry. All at once, though, it stopped, and became eerily quiet. The next he heard was the newcomer's voice shouting at him, saying "Run! Now! Get the girl and go!"

He staggered up, and saw the dark blood that covered the man's hands, knowing he had somehow killed one of the wolves, though Harry had no idea of how he had stood up to the mad wail of the beasts. He moved instinctively, pulling Ginny along side him, leaning on her as much as she did on him. A wolf pulled out of the main pack of perhaps ten others, and stalked over towards the boy. Just as Harry reached the tree, and pulled Ginny in with him, he looked back and saw the wolf leap at the man. A cry of warning about to burst from his throat, he suddenly choked it back at the man's actions.

Using only his hands, the man leapt straight at the wolf, grabbing it by its jaw, top and bottom, and then wrenched them apart. Harry looked down as he saw the wolf's head begin to split in two. A muffled yelp came from the beast, and Harry looked up again. The stranger had pulled a heavy knife from his belt, and slit the throat of another wolf, just before its teeth managed to latch around his throat.

The boy, now speckled in blood, began to flow between the remaining beasts as if he was dancing. The ease with which he slew showed his skill and grace, and the indifference on his face showed the fact that he was not bothered at all by this violence. He jumped over, and landed just in front of the stump, blocking Harry's view, but also stopping the wolf that had begun to creep away towards what it must have thought was easier prey. That wolf fell with a shriek and a gurgle, its eyes fading from yellow to a filmy white, just as another managed to latch on to the stranger's arm, and this time, it was the human who fell, holding onto his arm as though it burned beyond tolerable pain.

Harry, using a quick spell, changed a fallen branch into a knife, and stabbed the wolf, now standing over the man as though it was savoring the moment. It fell back, unable to move its front legs, just as another stepped up to take its place. Only about three still stood, but they circled in, holing the group against the tree. Harry swung the knife as one tried to jump at him. Two wolves left.

The stranger rose to his feet, his bitten arm dangling uselessly at his side. "Let's see what those last two are made of!" he called to Harry, laughing as he did so. Harry thought he was mad; to be so injured and act as if nothing were happening at all. The stranger quickly bent down, and pressing something on his boots, blades the same as the knife's stuck out from the front of the soles. Laughing again, the boy jumped forward. Before Harry could stop him, he was between the wolves, lashing out with his legs and feet, landing blows that not only knocked the wolves temporarily off their feet, but also slashing open fur and muscle. Harry jumped forward too, attempting to help, but the wolves were down. He counted up eleven bodies around the clearing.

"Are you insane?" Ginny demanded of the man. "You could have more than easily been killed!"

"Wouldn't be the first time," he replied. "If I may ask, why were you wandering around lost in these woods? There's nothing here that would interest you."

"We're not looking for anything, we're just hiding out," Harry replied. "But, please, tell us your name."

"My name?" the man asked. "Call me Felix."

"Felix?" Ginny asked, slightly amused. "What kind of name is that?"

"A lucky one," Felix replied, just as amused. "Now, let's see about getting you both back to your camp. You can tell me about you as we walk."

"Did you follow us as we left?" Ginny asked. "I thought we had set protective spells to avoid notice."

"You did," Felix told them. "But I saw you arrive together, and thought that if I waited around, I might get a glimpse of you again. You see," he added, somewhat sadly, "it's been very lonely here in the woods."

"No problem," Harry responded. "But what are you doing in the woods?"

"About the same as you, I expect," Felix told him. "Now, come on, it isn't safe to linger during the night in this part of the forest." He moved on down the trail, just as Ginny glanced at Harry, as if seeking reassurance. He shrugged his shoulders and nodded, and together, they followed Felix, talking with him as he led the way back to their camp.


	3. Chapter 3

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"You're really the only person living here?" Harry asked Felix. "No friends, no family, no other refugees?"

"No, just me," was Felix's reply. He seemed slightly put off by the question. Now that the trouble was over, Harry was able to get a good look at the guy. He had an athletic body to the max: tall, well-built, and handled like he knew what he was on about. He also had the strangest eyes Harry had seen in a while, both were golden-yellow. They reminded him of an eagle's; they were about as soft as one's. He also had a scar crossing over his eye and part of his cheek. He opened his mouth and spoke again. "Are you sure other people would really want to live around me?"

Harry, sensing a delicate subject, said nothing. Felix seemed to be lost in thought, and after the fight, it seemed best to play it safe around him. "Why wouldn't they?" he asked.

"That's a story for another time, I'm afraid," Felix replied. "It's getting later by the minute, and your camp should be set up just ahead. You'll have to take it from here, seeing as you've put all those lovely protections around the tent." He began to move off in a different direction, muttering under his breath.

"And where are you going?" Ginny asked him, not unkindly. "At least stop by for a little supper. Besides, your arm needs care."

"I'll be fine, I've done worse just messing around with my knife," Felix answered distractedly. "Besides, I'm not sure how housebroken I still am."

"No excuses now, come on," Ginny said, walking up to him and beginning to pull him towards the camp by his good arm. "At least, just long enough to patch you up."

Felix looked down at his arm, and then up at her. Harry, knowing it was useless to go against a girl's wishes, didn't blame him for allowing him to be pulled back. He was slightly put off, however, when Felix responded to her, "Alright, I always was a sucker for a pretty girl. I suppose an hour won't be too bad."

Ginny winked at Harry, who quickly wiped a slightly shocked expression off his face. "If you think I look good," she told Felix, "you should see Leah. She's much better looking than me."

"I wouldn't say that," Harry slipped in, while grabbing a hold of her hand. She smiled at him, and squeezed his. "But true, you really should meet our friends."

Muttering to himself, Harry heard Felix say, "Leah, Leah, now how is that name familiar? Must have been the one that…no, it's impossible."

They reached the tent, and Ginny led the way in. Nothing, nothing at all could have prepared Harry for the reaction from the others as he stepped inside.

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"Where the HELL have you guys been?" Ron yelled at them. "Do you have any idea how long you were gone, or how much we've been worrying about you?"

Harry tried to respond, but Hermione butted in as she surveyed them. "Why are you always covered in blood? Every time we let you leave for an errand that should be harmless, you end up looking as if you've been in the middle of a brawl."

"We have," he got in, "and we'll tell you about it. First, though, we have to introduce Felix, who saved our butts back there. Hey, Leah, are you all right?" he added, seeing her face, pale as the moon, shock covering it. She was staring right over his shoulder, right into Felix's face, who had taken a step back. All through the fight, Harry had seen nothing but bravery (or stupidity) from him, but a mask of shock painted Felix's face now.

"You!" Leah cried, stepping forward. "It's you!"

"Me," Felix responded quietly, now holding his ground, shock turning into wary indifference. "I thought it might be you, after I heard Ginny mention your name. What happens now?"

"I'm going to curse you into a jelly, then stomp what's left into the ground!" she shrieked. Harry had never seen her lose control before, and her wild hair and eyes were enough to scare him as much as one of the wolves.

"I don't think so," Felix responded, calmly, and then jumped straight up in the air, twenty feet up, and stood in the branches of the overhead trees. Harry stood, dumfounded, and looked up at him. "I'll stay and talk with you all, but no wands, and no fighting, please."

Leah, still staring up at him, began to lower her wand. Then, she looked accusingly at Harry and Ginny. "You let him, _him_, of all people, follow you back to camp. Don't you know who he _is_?"

"Well, he's one B.A. fighter," Ginny responded. "What difference does it make, who he is? Besides, he's just saved both our lives."

Leah looked at her, than looked at Harry, as if hoping he would deny her claim. When he didn't, she said "Be that as it may, but it doesn't change who he is, or what he's done." She called up to Felix in the trees, "Hey, you, get down here! I promise I won't hex you."

"Whatever you say," Felix responded, and stepped off the branch. Hermione gave a short gasp as he fell, but he landed as though he hadn't dropped more than a few feet. "Now," he asked, "what do you want to know?"


	4. Chapter 4

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"Let me get this straight," Ron spoke up, some time later. They had all moved back inside, with Felix sitting on the floor in front of them. Harry and Ginny were eating the meager meals that had been waiting for them. "You not only talked to, but knew You-Know-Who?"

"As I said, I didn't have much choice in the matter," Felix said, nursing his arm, now in a sling and bandaged tightly. "He was experimenting on things, like the wolves we fought earlier, and I happen to be the only human he tried things on."

"But, that would make you a Death Eater, wouldn't it?" Ron asked.

"No, it doesn't," Felix told him levelly. "I spent the majority of the time trying to escape, and finally did. I fled the manor where they had imprisoned me for so long, and came here. You're the first people I've talked to since."

"But how did you escape?" Hermione asked. "Without outside help, I mean."

"After some of the experiments, I pretended as if they had failed. In reality, they worked, giving me powers the others didn't know about," he told her. "For starters, the extent of my physical abilities were hidden until the day I left, along with my heightened senses."

"How long were you captive?" Harry asked him. "And what would they do when an experiment failed, or if you disobeyed?"

"I believe you know what the Cruciatus curse feels like," Felix replied. "That mainly, both by the Master and by the Death Eaters, though eventually it just made me almost invulnerable to pain. They tried to break my mind, so they wouldn't have to keep using the Imperious curse on me every day, but luckily for me, that never happened."

"How can you speak so lightly of it, doesn't it bother you, don't you care anymore?" Ginny asked him, her face showing traces of sympathy.

"As I said, torture breaks many things," Felix calmly stated, as though he were talking about the weather and not horrific pain, "but I learned to shut it out, block all emotion. They helped me, actually, if indirectly; most of the experiments left me with less humanity, but the bestiality helped shut out the pain. I'm still learning to get my emotions back"  
"But you were laughing while we fought the wolves," Harry pointed out. "What do you call that?"

"Temporary insanity," Felix spoke coolly. "After training constantly, just because it was a break from the pain, the only time I could be happy was when I was either causing pain, or feeling it."

"Why would feeling pain make you happy?" Hermione asked. "It's not logical."

"Sometimes logic deserts the real world, Hermione," he told her. "The pain I felt proved to me I was still alive, and therefore, made me happy. The same reason applies to when I'm hurt or hungry. I'm just happy to be alive."

"That's all well," Leah chipped in. It was the first time she had spoken since they had begun to question Felix, and her voice was tight with withheld anger. "But what about those you hurt, or the people affected by your little 'training' exercises? What about them, huh?"

The others looked down at Felix, curiosity plain in their looks. If he was affected by the tone, he didn't show it, unless looking tired counted as emotion. "What I did was necessary," he said. "I did things, while Imperioused, which I regret to the utmost now. I wish, now, that I would have had the strength to throw of the Master's curse, but it always came down harder on me when I got back the more I fought."

"Who's 'the Master' supposed to be?" Ron asked quickly. Harry didn't blame him, because Leah looked as if her newfound control was starting to slip. "You-Know-Who?" he added half jokingly.

"Yes, actually," Felix told him with a flat-out serious look. His eyes looked like steel, and were about as warm as it too. "If I called him differently, it was he that took over the torture. Do you know what it's like for one such as him to do that, day after day? Even now, after I've escaped, it's still hard for me to go back to using his regular name."

"Well, don't, because it's Taboo," Harry said. "We found that out the hard way."

Hermione shifted her shirt, and showed Felix the scar traced along her throat. "We were caught, and escaped, but we paid heavily for it. One of our friends died that night." She was close to crying, and Harry too felt the grief again, remembering Dobby's heroic death.

"I'm sorry," Felix told them. "Was it a worthy death?"

Unsure of what Felix meant, Harry responded, "He died fighting You-Know-Who, and without him, we would probably all be dead now."

"Then grieve not," Felix told him, looking him in the eye. "If one goes down in such a manner, how much more should we thank them, and be happy that they made a difference."

"You talk of death as though it's easy to accept," Harry said. Nothing would ever make him happy that Dobby was dead. "How would you know?"

"As you might have guessed, I've seen my fair share of it, while staying at the Master's manor," Felix replied with the same tired face that he had worn earlier. "But please, let's talk of something else. Do you wish to know anything else before we retire for the night?"

"A few last things," Ginny asked with a strange twinkle in her eye. "What were the other experiments, what else can you do, and who were you before being captive?"

"The last I can't answer. No," he told them again, as their looks turned suspicious, "I have no memory of what happened before I was captive, and even my memory of captivity is sketchy. As for the others, I'll try to sum them up."

"Firstly, they combined parts of my body with those of animals, heightening all physical aspects. I can run as fast as a greyhound, jump like a frog, and lift anything an ox would be able to push." He paused, looking at their stunned faces. "My ears are like foxes', my nose like a wolf's, and my eye's are like eagles'."

"Secondly," he continued, barely seeing their blank stares, "if you were to take an x-ray…"

"Hang on," Ron burst in, "what's an x-ray?"

"It lets you see your bones, or other parts of the body," Hermione quickly explained. "It's mainly used in Muggle medicine."

"Well, what good is that?" Ron asked, confusion very evident in voice and face.

"Would you shut up and let him tell us why?" Hermione told him off. "Sorry, Felix. Go on."

"No problem," he told her, an amused look on his face. "As I was saying, if you were able to see what makes up my limbs, you would find more than bone and flesh. The Master bound each arm and leg with a wand core from one of his defeated enemies." He paused, looking at their stunned faces. "Yes, it's possible, though I have no idea how."

"Bu-But why?" Ginny asked, her face as dumb-founded as Harry guessed they all felt.

"The magical substances, when linked closely with a physical thing, give that thing magical powers it didn't have before," Felix told her calmly. "The cores provide me with heightened protection from spells, curses, and jinxes, but the consequences far outweigh the benefits. Because of the nature of the tests, any wizarding powers I once had have been diminished to nothing."

"Explain that," Hermione told him more than asked. "Powers diminishing."

"It's hard to say for sure, it's just what I call it," Felix told her, shrugging his shoulders as he continued. "Every time I have a spell casted on me, I feel a…a backlash, as though part of the spell's power was hitting me, or coming from my own strength, I can't tell. I think that the protection I get is whatever magical focus I _would_ have turned into a different form. For example, giants are mostly immune to most spells, but they can't do magic"

"That makes sense," she said, half speaking to herself. "I've heard a theory that states spells take their power from somewhere, but no one's ever been able to say how or why. Perhaps your situation shows that there is something more than blood to actually being a witch or wizard."

"That doesn't matter now, Hermione," Harry spoke up. "All it means is that you have limits, right Felix?"

"True, that was one of the first things the Master tested. He would set someone to try and hex me, and monitor when the spells started to actually affect me." He shuddered, and they were all able to see a sliver the half-concealed memories from the testing.

"What were they like?" Ginny asked him, her voice tender. "Those experiments of endurance?"

"That isn't a feeling I'd ever wish on another, suffice to say it took a month's worth of recovery before I could resist a spell again," he told them. "But, that's a story for another night. Anything else before we go off to bed?"

"One last thing," Leah spoke up, he face showing no emotion, same with her voice. "What happened to her, after you took her to that house?"

The others looked quizzically at the two of them. Felix sighed, and then spoke up, "She is now my eyes and my grace. Please forgive me for my actions."

She nodded to herself, and then looked up at him, and tears were evident in her eyes. "I forgive you," she said in a throaty voice, as if it was taking all of her strength to hold those tears back. "Was it…quick? The way she died, I mean."

"It was," Felix told her. He had now risen up from the floor and had taken her hand in his own. "As far as I know, it was also painless. Does it comfort you?"

"It does," she told him, meeting his gaze. She stood up, slowly, with him following suit, both still holding hands. "Please," she began, "just try not to remind me, and don't tell the others."

Knowing everyone was staring at them, Felix answered her, slowly untangling their hands as he did so, "It will be as you say, starting now. I think it'd be best if we all slept some, though." he spoke up, loud enough for everyone to hear. She gave a start, as though snapping out of a daze, looked around, then hurried up the stairs to the room she shared with the other girls.

"What now?" Ron asked. "We sleep, but what of Flik here, if I can call you that?"

"It's fine with me," Felix responded, sounding slightly amused. "Also, if it's alright, I'll sleep here on the floor."

"How can we trust you not to run away in the night?" Ron asked. "No offense, it's just that, one with 'connections' like yours, how much of your will is your own?"

"None taken," Felix said, as though he had expected it all along. Looking at Hermione, he said, "I believe you can do a temporary Binding charm? Cast it upon me, just for the night."

"Are you sure?" she asked, clearly troubled by his suggestion. "If I make a mistake, it could bind you to this spot forever."

"But you won't," Felix responded, totally at ease. "If half of what I've heard about you from Harry and Ginny is true, then it should be relatively easy for you."

She got up, and then walked over to him. "Would you please kneel, Flik?" she asked/told him. When he had, she spoke quietly, and circled her wand around his neck. A silvery collar that seemed forged of light appeared around his neck, and a similar chain connected the collar to a point on the ground. "It's done," she told him. "And now I think I'll turn in for the night. Boys, are you coming?" She began to walk upstairs, pulling Ginny along behind her, the latter shooting a glance back at the boys, who still hadn't moved.

"Will you travel with us?" Harry asked Felix. "Will you join our quest to bring You-Know-Who down?"

"I will," Flik, as Harry now thought of him, answered, "and did, the moment I saved your sorry butt from those wolves. Was there ever any doubt?"

"Well, Flik," Ron said, clapping him on the shoulder and tossing him a pillow, "I'm glad you're here with us. You hungry?"

"Not really, I ate my fill just before following the lovebirds," was his reply. Ignoring a squawk of protest from Harry, he continued on by saying, "I'll show you a decent stream I found in the morning. Don't worry, now that you have me along, you'll never need to look too far for food again. I bid you, good night." And with that, he lay down, favoring his good side, and began to breathe deeper.

"You hear that, Harry?" Ron asked excitedly as they walked up to their bunks. "He knows where to find food! I think it was your best days work, getting lost and finding him, it was."

Ron continued to jabber on like that until they were settled down for the remainder of the night, but Harry couldn't get his mind to rest. He had seen the glances Felix had cast at Ginny, and the ones she gave him in return. It would be all he needed, just another guy to distract Ginny while they waited out in the woods. Trying not to think on it, he fell into a sleep haunted with dreams of Felix rising up, with wings, snake eyes, and fox ears, and setting a snare into which he and the others fell into. There were dreams of Ginny with Dean, Ginny with Felix, and even dreams of Ginny with Voldemort.

It was a long night.


	5. Chapter 5

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Ginny was the first one to get up the next morning. She walked sleepily downstairs, and saw Felix sitting in the same spot, the collar of light hovering around his neck. "Morning," she called to him. "Anyone else up yet?"

"No," he replied, "just you and me. Would you mind tossing me a book?" He indicated the one Hermione had forgotten last night, just out of his arm's reach.

"Couldn't you have just grabbed it?" she asked, handing it to him.

"No," he said, opening it and beginning to read while he talked. "Part of the magic of a Binding charm prevents the one bound from moving around."

"Oh," she said, slightly confused. She sat on the couch and leaned forward. "What happens if you try, though? And how do you know about Binding, I've never heard of it before."

"It's not common," Felix told her, looking up from the book. "The only reason I know of it is because it's what was cast on me every night I was a prisoner. To answer your first question, the caster can tell what you tried to do, or even if you pull on the chain a little bit. With the Death Eaters, punishment usually followed, but I don't want to trouble you with that." Changing the subject, he asked, "So what got you into this boat, hiding out and all?"

The two talked for almost an hour, with Ginny relating the events of the past few years, and Felix was listening intently. It was a relief to her, finally being able to speak freely to someone for once. She didn't stop talking until Hermione appeared, Leah at her shoulder.

"Morning everybody," Hermione said, yawning as she did so. "Flik, did you sleep alright?"

"Never better, thanks," he told her. "Would you mind undoing the collar now? It'd be nice to walk around for a little bit"

"Sure, just one second," she told him. Pulling out her wand, she traced the collar, and where the wand touched it, it faded away. When the full collar had gone, the chain too disappeared. "There you go," she said, looking satisfied.

"Thanks," Felix told her, standing up and stretching his legs and his good arm. "How about breakfast? I could help you find some food, seeing as I know what's edible around here and what's not."

"Sounds good to me," Ginny told him, bouncing up from the couch. "I'm starving. We'll be back in a bit." They disappeared through the tent flap, both in an animated conversation before they were outside.

Making sure they were gone, Hermione sat down next to Leah, who had the look of not sleeping very well. "Leah," she asked softly, "who was the 'she' you asked Felix about last night?"

"Before I ran away," Leah started to say, not looking up, "I had a pet eagle named Sky. She was all I had keeping me happy, I've told you about the way my Muggle parents treated me once they found out I was a witch. Anyway, one night a boy broke into the house, knocking my parents out and binding me to a chair with ropes before we even had time to react. He grabbed Sky's cage, her still in it, and ran away with her. Weird thing was, he jumped straight out of the third-story window, from what I could see."

"Felix?" Hermione gasped, and continued when Leah slowly nodded. "But why? He seems so…well, he doesn't seem like one to do that."

"I could tell he wasn't in his right mind while he was leaving," Leah told her softly. "He kept saying 'No, please, stop it!' under his breath. Now, I realize that he'd been Imperioused, but at the time, I was too angry and sad to do anything. He's the reason I ran away; I was trying to find him for revenge."

"So when he said 'She's my eyes and grace,' he meant…"

"Yeah," Leah cut in, "she's the eagle they combined him with. At least now I know what happened," she added bitterly. "See, now that I know Felix took her away, I should be able to get even, but the fact he tried to stop it makes me pity him, and I just can't decide whether to hate him or like him."

Lost for words, Hermione patted Leah on the back, who had tears in her eyes again. Neither one noticed the two extendable ears being hauled back upstairs.

1111111111

Ron and Harry came bouncing down the stairs a short time later. By that time, Hermione was back in a book, and Leah was brewing a pot of strong coffee, which she preferred to tea.

"Where're Flik and Ginny?" Ron asked them, plopping down on the couch next to Hermione.

"They went to find breakfast," she told him, not even looking up. "I think they'll be back soon."

Harry sat down in the chair, his mind wandering back to the dreams he had had last night. _No_, he told himself, _it's not possible, you should stop worrying_. Even with his own assurances, he couldn't stop the image of Ginny running off with Felix from popping up in his mind. Hearing Ginny's familiar laugh, though, he got up and ducked out of the tent.

Outside, Felix and Ginny sat on the ground, both laughing together like age-old friends. "Morning, Harry," she called to him, getting up and giving him a hug. "Look what Felix found!"

When Harry dropped his gaze, his jaw dropped with it. Sitting in a not so small pile on the ground were berries of all sorts, eggs that were not chickens', though they were the same size, five rabbits, a pile of greens, and assorted other things he didn't recognize. "Where did you find all of this?" he asked Felix, almost not believing his eyes. "We've been here a week, and never found half as much."

"Well, some came from my hideout, and I caught the rabbits this morning," Felix replied. "Besides, with my new nose, I can smell just about everything. Honestly though, without Ginny here to help carry and pick things, I couldn't have brought half of this back." That brought a quick smile to her lips, and he continued, "If you have a big pot or something to cook the meat in, it'd be nice if you go get it while I skin the rabbits."

Harry ducked back inside, grabbed a pot, half filled it with water from his wand, and then ducked back outside. Felix already had one of the rabbits skinned, and continued on the others while Harry cut the meat off and dumped it into the pot. When all of the meat was in, Felix crushed a handful of herbs on top of the meat. Then, working together, they quickly added some wild potatoes and even some carrots that Felix had found, though Harry didn't have a clue where he had found them. A short while later, the six were dining on a fruit salad Ginny had whipped up, scrambled eggs from Ron (though in truth, everyone knew they were supposed to be over-easy), and the stew Harry and Felix had finished, all washed down with Leah's coffee or fresh water. It was by far the biggest meal any of them had eaten in weeks, if not months, and everyone's spirits soared once they had finished.

"Ahh, I'm stuffed," Ron told them once he had finished. "There's even some left, and I'm full."

"Great stew, Harry," Leah said, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms. "Flik, we may have our disagreements, but if every meal with you is like this one, I'm betting we'll be good friends before too long."

"No problem," he replied, smiling, lounging in his chair, seeming completely at ease. "I'll keep it up as long as you let me hang around. I haven't felt this good since the day after I escaped." He sipped some coffee, then continued, "But what exactly are you doing here? From what I've heard, you're trying to take down…Him…but from what I've seen, not a whole lot is happening at the moment."

"We'll tell you about it later," Harry cut in. "For now, you should just show us that stream you told us about."

"Whatever," Felix said, standing up and moving towards the entrance. "Who all wants to come?"

"I will," Ginny said, eager as always, bouncing out before anyone could say anything else.

"Me, too," Harry said. Felix walked away, hesitating when he saw Harry hadn't moved. "Go on," Harry called, "I just need to say something quick." Felix nodded, looking slightly confused.

"What, Harry," Hermione asked, once she was sure Felix was gone.

"Just know, we only met him yesterday, he comes here, and all he does is ask questions about what we've been up to," he replied. "It's suspicious."

"Oh, Harry, just knock it," she told him. "I know you have reason to suspect him, but just give him a chance."

"Alright, fine, just saying," he said, trying to defend himself. "Ron, you coming?"

"Why not?" Ron replied, getting slowly to his feet. "Don't go anywhere, you two." He said, wagging his finger at Leah and Hermione. "And try not to scheme too much while we're away."

"Really now? Scheming?" Hermione asked him in a level voice, but amusement painting her face. "Run along now, you two, before Felix and Ginny leave without you."

That got Harry's feet moving.


End file.
